ROWVA hires familiar face as high school principal; Rees a former teacher, coach at ROWVA

Tom Martin, Galesburg Register-Mail
·2 min read

ONEIDA — The ROWVA School Board has hired Benjamin Rees as JH/HS Principal effective July 1. He succeeds Adam Seaney who was recently announced as vocational director for Galesburg High School.

Rees, who lives in Galesburg, is principal at AlWood Jr/Sr High School where he has been employed for the past four years. The move puts Rees in a larger school: AlWood Jr/Sr High School has 164 students, compared to ROWVA's 263 enrollment or the same 7-12 school, according to the most recent numbers from the Illinois School Report Card.

Ben Rees
Ben Rees

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Rees also was assistant principal and later principal for West Central High School in Biggsville from 2015 to 2018. Prior to moving into administration, Rees was employed at ROWVA High School as a social studies teacher from 2002 to 2015. During his time at ROWVA he was also athletic director from 2010 to 2015 and served as a coach for varsity football and varsity softball.

Rees earned a bachelor's degree in history education from Illinois State University in 1998. He then received a masters of arts in history in 2008, and a masters of science in educational leadership in 2015 from Western Illinois University.

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"Mr. Rees is a familiar name to the staff and community here at ROWVA," Scott Lake, board president said. “He returns to us highly recommended for his capabilities as a high school principal. We are confident he will make an immediate positive impact."

Rees and his wife Laura, an elementary special education teacher at ROWVA, have lived in the area since both were first hired at ROWVA in 2002. They have three children, Grant, 16, Lillian, 14, and Braden, 14. Rees said in the release he is excited to return to the ROWVA school district.

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This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: ROWVA hires Benjamin Rees as high school principal